Liquid carbon dioxide dry cleaning system having a hydraulically powered basket

摘要

A liquid carbon dioxide dry cleaning system that employs a rotating basket inside a dry cleaning vessel that is powered by hydraulic flow. The present invention is particularly useful as a dry cleaning system that uses liquid carbon dioxide as the cleaning agent. The dry cleaning system has a pressurized vessel containing a liquid carbon dioxide bath. The basket is disposed in the vessel and has a plurality of openings around its periphery. A plurality of roller bearings are disposed between the basket and the vessel that allow it to rotate within the vessel. A plurality of manifolds are disposed between the vessel and the basket that have nozzles that produce jets of liquid carbon dioxide that agitate the garments. The nozzles are aligned with the plurality of openings in the basket. A pump is coupled between the manifolds and the vessel for circulating the liquid carbon dioxide to produce the jets that clean the garments and rotate the basket. Additional sets of manifolds and nozzles and a valve may be provided to cause the basket to selectively counter-rotate.